Gioiosa Guardia, Archaeological site and ghost town in Gioiosa Marea, Italy

Gioiosa Guardia is an archaeological site and ghost town perched on a hilltop in Sicily. It was originally an organized settlement with multi-room houses built along the slope and connected by narrow streets that formed a planned layout.

Gioiosa Guardia was founded by Vinciguerra d'Aragona, who was elected under the reign of Frederick III of Aragon, on Mount Meliuso. The town had the right to build towers and fortresses wherever it deemed necessary to defend the territory against pirate raids. It was abandoned after the earthquake of 1783, and the new town of Gioiosa Marea was founded at the foot of the mountain, on land known as the "ciappe di tono", then owned by the Giardina family of Patti.

The site is also known as Gioiosa Vecchia, meaning old Gioiosa. This name reflects how residents eventually chose to relocate downhill and build the modern town of Gioiosa Marea, leaving this hilltop settlement behind.

The site today consists only of ruins that are freely accessible and open to explore. The area is open landscape, allowing visitors to walk freely among old walls and house foundations scattered across the hilltop.

On clear days, the hilltop offers long-distance views stretching from Mount Etna across to the Aeolian Islands and as far as Palermo and Calabria. This exceptional vantage point reveals why this strategic location remained inhabited and defended for centuries.